Convertible seat-bed



y 8, 1956 F. E. KAEHN CONVERTIBLE SEAT-BED 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 15, 1955 IIIIIIIIIII ll/I/ INVENTOR. [Farm 5 kale/m BY y 3, 1956 F. E. KAEHN CONVERTIBLE SEATBEID Filed April 13, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I I I 1/ JNVENTOR. FranxE/(ae/m AUTORA/EKB y 8, 1956 F. E. KAEHN 2,744,266

CONVERTIBLE SEAT-BED Filed April 13, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 e ""'a i INVENTOR. FranKE/(cza/rr;

IBYGLJULW United States Patent CONVERTIBLE SEAT-BED Frank E. Kaehn, Fort Landerdal'e, Fla., assignor of onehalf to LouisH. Solonche, Paterson, N. J.

Application April .13, .1955, Serial No. 501,102

Claims. (Cl. 5-18) This invention relates to a novelexpansible seat, more particularly a seating member of the type commonly referred to as a sofa bed in which means are provided for converting a seating member suitable for use as a couch or sofa to a bed.

Contemporary housing facilities are such that provision must often be made permitting the use of the various dwelling chambers of the 'home for a variety of purposes. This is most readily exemplified 'by the oft found need to convert a living chamber to provide sleeping accommodations. This, of course, is most readily accomplished by providing beds in these living areas which it is desired to employ for sleeping purposes. From an esthetic point of view, however, it is found undesirable and unpleasing to the eye to clutter up living areas with furniture conventionally assigned to sleeping chambers. Maximum comfort is, of course, achieved in living areas by providing seating surfaces such as chairs and sofas which are specifically designed to be sat on.

It is With the above problems in mind that the present construction has been evolved, a construction providing an article of furniture having the decorative properties making it most eminently suitable for use in the living areas of the home and serving the additional function of providing seating space. This article of furniture, when desired, may readily be converted to provide sleeping accommodations, thus increasing the utility of the living area.

It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide a novel article of furniture for the home.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel article of furniture which in use increases the utility of any given room.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel article of furniture providing seating facilities.

A still further object of'this invention is to provide a novel article of furniture providing sleeping facilities.

Itis also an object 'of this invention toprovide an article of furniture which may readily be converted from an esthetically pleasing seating member to a highly functionally sleeping member.

An object of this invention is also to provide a novel seat bed construction easily convertible from a seating member to a sleeping member of a simple construction, requiring minimal maintenance and readily operable.

These and other objects of the invention which will become apparent from the following dis'closure taken in conjunction with the claims, are achieved by provision of an esthetically pleasing seat or couch meeting the requirements of contemporary interior decorating standards with a lower frame and upper frame slidable over said lower frame, said frames being disposed below the seat cushion of the chair or couch, whereby expansion from a comfortable seating surface to a comfortable sleeping surfaceis-attained. A supporting leg is pivoted to the upper frame member and carnactuated from an inoperative position to operative supporting position when 2,744,266 Patented May 8, 1956 the upper frame is moved from a position immediately above said lower frame. Means are providedbetween the two frame members so that when said upper frame is moved out from above said lower frame the latter will be raised to the level of said upper frame. A cushion member folded over on itself and supportedonsaid upper frame may then readily be unfolded to provide a mattress supported on said frame members.

This construction will be made most apparent in the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a top plan view of the novel construction with parts broken away to illustrate the frame structure. Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view on lines 2--2 of Figure 1, illustrating the rack and'pinion control forthe auxiliary supporting legs andthe lower frame elevating linkage.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view similar 'to Figure 2 showing the cam structure controlling the auxiliary supporting legs.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view through the novel seat-bed in open position.

Figure 5 is an enlaged detail view along 5+5 of (Figure 1 revealing some details .of the auxiliary .leg operating mechanism. k

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the rear portion of the seat-bed illustrating the lower frame elevating linkage.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a novel seat-bed 'illustrating the cushion fold over. 7

Figure 8 is a detail view of another modification of the auxiliary leg operating mechanism. 1 j

Figure 9 illustrates another embodiment .of the lower frame elevating mechanism. a

Figure 10 illustrates a further embodiment jof-this frame .11. Rack 15 is secured alongeach side of upper frame 14. This rack 15 meshes with a pinion 16 as best seen in Figures 2 and 5, which is rotatablymountediri,

the framework 13 of the seat-bed. Rotatable'mounting of the pinion 16 is-obtained by securement of said pinion on shaft 17 which extends across the front of the seat framework 13. On this shaft 17 are alsosecuredncarn wheel 18 for rotation with said pinion 16 and shaft 17. An anti-friction roll 20 is rotatably mounted in leg '21 depending from upper frame '14 and sliding on a portion of-framework 13 adjacent lower frame 11. A pusher pin 22 on upper frame 14' is mounted to slide therewith into engagement with pawl 23 'pivotally secured to the lower frame 11, as best seen in Figures 2 and 6.

Pawl 23 is pivotally mounted on pivot'24 and is spring biased in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figures 2 and 6 by a spring 25 towards stop 26. The pawl 23 is provided with a hook end 27. A spring-28,?as

seen in Figure 2, is secured between lower frame '11 and.

21. The front end of camming surface 30 is pivoted into a front wall portion 33 of upper frame 14, as best seen in Figure 3. Camming surface 30 comprises a twisted flat rod. This surface 30 meshes in cam wheel 18 and where the cam wheel 18 is rotated in a single plane about a fixed pivot point, the camming surface 30 will be rotated about its longitudinal axis when drawn past the cam wheel 18. A leg 35 having a caster 36 at the foot thereof is secured to cam surface 30 perpendicular thereto for rotation therewith.

As best seen in Figure 4, the front portion of upper frame 14 is provided with a facade piece 39 extending along the front thereof and of a height sufiicient to conceal a cushion layer and the upper and lower frames. A cushion 40 hinged at 42 so as to be foldable over on itself is supported on upper frame 14.

An operating handle 45 in the shape of a bell crank lever pivoted in a horizontal point at the bend thereof, as seen in Figure 1, facilitates locking of the couch or seat in closed position for seating and enables opening to the bed condition. Handle 45 is pivoted to the lower part of upper frame 14 and is spring biased by tension spring 47 into engagement with locking pin 46 on lower frame 11.

Figure 8 illustrates a possible modification of the leg control employing rack 15 and pinion 16 to facilitate rotation of cam wheel 18 to cause rotation of cam surface 30 on its axis with the resulting downward pivoting of leg 35. Instead of rack 15 a guide wire 50 is secured at the side of upper frame 14 wound about screw cam 51 secured on shaft 17 to rotate therewith. As is apparent movement of frame 14 causes rotation of screw cam 51 and shaft 17.

To prevent skewing of lower frame 11 with respect to framework 13, the modification of Figure 9 is employed in lieu of links 12 previously discussed. A shaft 55 is extended between lateral ends of framework 13 and a pinion 56 is secured to said shaft. A link 57 having a cog portion 58 in mesh with pinion 56 supports lower frame 11. Since the laterally positioned links 57 must operate in unison, skewing of frame 11 is eliminated.

Automation of the steps needed in converting the seating member to a bed is achieved by employing the mechanism illustrated in Figure in which a motor 60 is geared through speed reducer 61 to drive pinion 16 which is in mesh with rack 15. The motor 60 is of a reversible type and is controlled by switch 62. Contacts 63 and 64 mounted on upper frame 14 engage micro-switch 65 at the extreme positions of upper frame 14 to shut olf motor 60.

Operation In operation, when it is desired to convert the seating member illustrated in Figure 7 to a bed so as to provide sleeping facilities in the living areas of the home where such seating members are customarily positioned, it

merely becomes necessary to grasp operating handle 45 beneath facade 39. Upon pulling in a forward direction, as seen in Figure 1, handle 45 is released from locking pin 46 and causes upper frame 14 to slide out from over lower frame 11. Cushion 40 is moved out along with frame 14. The outward movement of frame 14 results in rack causing pinion 16 to be rotated. This rotation turns shaft 17 and cam wheel 18 which is mounted thereon. Cam surface 30 which is at the same time being drawn along cam wheel 18 is thus twisted. The twist provided on the cam surface is only through 90", and it will be observed that leg 35 secured to the cam surface is rotated through 90 from a position parallel to said frame 14 to a position perpendicular thereto, whereby support is provided for the front end of said frame 14 as seen in Figure 7.

Prior to upper frame 14 reaching the end of its outward travel, pusher pin 22 on the upper frame engages hook end 27 of pawl 23. Since pawl 23 is pivoted on lower frame 11, the lower frame is given a forward shift along with upper frame 14. This causes pivoting of the lower frame on links 12 to elevate said lower frame. The links 12 are of a size such as to cause elevation of the lower frame to the level of the upper frame 14. At this moment frame 14 reaches its outward limit of travel and cushion 39 may be unfolded, as seen in Figure 4, along hinge 42 to provide a smooth sleeping surface.

Closing of the bed to a seating arrangement is accomplished by reversal of the aforedisclosed operations. As seen in Figure 6, the rear end of upper frame 14 abuts against the front end of lower frame 11 in the distended position. On pushing upper frame 14 rearwardly, lower frame 11 will be caused to move on links 12 and pin 22 will become disengaged from book end 27 of pawl 23. Pivoting rearwardly on links 12 lower frame 11 will be lowered to the closed position.

It is thus seen that an article of furniture has been provided which may be employed to provide the necessary seating facilities of the living quarters of a home, and which fulfills the necessary esthetic requirements. This article of furniture may, when desired, be converted to provide sleeping accommodations with minimal effort.

The above disclosure has been given by way of illustration and elucidation and not by way of limitation, and it is. desired to protect all embodiments of the herein disclosed inventive concept within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed-is:

l. An expansible seating member comprising: a support framework; a lower frame resting on said support; links between said frame and said support whereby the frame may be moved to a plane above the support; an upper frame slidably mounted above said lower frame; rollers rotatably mounted on said upper frame beneath said upper frame to slidably support same; a cam surface pivoted on said upper frame; a cam wheel on said support framework engaged by said cam surface; and supporting legs firmly connected and pivoting along with said cam surface and moving from a position in parallel to said frame members to a position perpendicular thereto when said upper frame is slid outwardly.

2. An expansible seating member comprising: a support; a lower frame resting on said support; links between said frame and said support whereby the frame may be moved to a plane above the support; an upper frame slidably mounted above said lower frame; rollers rotatably mounted on said upper frame and slidably supporting said upper frame; a pusher member on said upper frame; an engaging member on said lower frame engaged by said pusher to move said lower frame to a plane above said support in line with said upper frame, when said upper frame is slid out from over said lower frame; a cam surface pivoted on said upper frame; a cam wheel on said support framework engaged by said cam surface; and sup porting legs firmly connected and pivoting with said cam surface and moving from a position in parallel to said frame members to a position perpendicular thereto.

3. A convertible seat-bed, comprising, a supporting framework, a lower frame resting upon said framework in the closed position of the seat-bed, an upper frame resting upon said lower frame in said closed position. guiding means between said supporting framework and said upper frame for moving said upper frame parallel to and away from said lower frame to an open position in which said upper frame is beyond said lower frame, means connecting said lower frame with said framework for swinging said lower frame to the level of said upper frame, means connected with said upper frame and said lower frame and operable during the movement of the upper frame to said open position to actuate said frame swinging means and raise said lower frame after it has been cleared by said upper frame, a supporting leg located in a withdrawn position in the closed position of the seat-bed, and means operatively connecting said leg with said guiding means to swing said leg to an operative position during the movement of the upper frame to said open position.

4. A convertible seat-bed, comprising, a supporting framework, a lower frame resting upon said framework in the closed position of the seat-bed, an upper frame resting upon said lower frame in said closed position, a rack-andpinion device connected with said supporting framework and said upper frame for moving said upper frame parallel to and away from said lower frame to an open position in which said upper frame is beyond said lower frame, means connecting said lower frame with said framework for swinging said lower frame to the level of said upper frame, means connected with said upper frame and said lower frame and operable during the movement of the upper frame to said open position to actuate said frame swinging means and raise said lower frame after it has been cleared by said upper frame, a supporting leg located in a withdrawn position in the closed position of the seat-bed, a cam wheel rotatable along with said pinion, a cam surface pivoted on said upper frame and firmly connected with said leg, whereby said cam surface pivots during the movement of the upper frame to said open position to swing said leg to an operative position.

5. A convertible seat-bed, comprising a substantially rectangular supporting framework having two sides, a rear and a front, a lower frame resting upon said framework in the closed position of the seat-bed and having two sides and a rear enclosed by the two sides and the rear of the framework in said closed position, at least two spaced parallel links connected with said framework and said lower frame and located in the space between a side of the framework and an adjacent side of the lower frame in said closed position, an upper frame located upon said lower frame in said closed position and being substantially of the same size, a rack carried by a side of said upper frame, a shaft carried by said framework adjacent and parallel to the front thereof, a pinion carried by said shaft and meshing with said rack, said rack extending horizontally for guiding said upper frame in a forward horizontal movement away from said lower frame to an open position in which said upper frame is beyond said lower frame, said framework having a guide extending along one side of said lower frame parallel to and on a lower level than said rack, a roller depending from said upper frame and rolling upon said guide, said roller being located adjacent the rear of the framework in said closed position, a coiled spring extending substantially in the direction of said links in said closed position and located between the front and the rear of the framework, said spring having a rear end connected to said lower frame and a front end connected to said framework, said links and said spring being adapted to swing said lower frame to the level of said upper frame, and a hook-and-pin device connected with said upper frame and said lower frame and interengaging during the forward movement of the upper frame to said open position, whereby further movement of the upper frame will actuate said links and said spring and swing said lower frame to the level of the upper frame after it has been cleared by the upper frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 124,265 Graves Mar. 5, 1872 492,729 Lewin Feb. 28, 1893 1,368,510 Kreuzkamp Feb. 15, 1921 1,634,551 Moore July 5, 1927 1,747,150 Fox Feb. 11, 1930 2,577,223 Woller Dec. 4, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 664,553 France Apr. 23, 1929 

